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Religion in Atria
Modern day Atria is mostly secular, but that does not mean it is devoid of religion, nor that it was always this way. A major reason religion has faded is the advancement of magic. Less and less seems outside the reach of humanity, especially with magic being capable of creating things like life, making small dimensions, and altering the laws of physics. Magic itself is also no longer a mysterious phenomenon, but a well-understood physical trait. In the early days of Atria's recorded history, there was a widespread belief in a single God as the creator of the universe. Wizards, being far rarer than they are today, were believed to be God's chosen and allowed to partake of His power. Before the discovery of ethernano or the knowledge that wizards were fundamentally different beings, there was little else they could believe. Prayer and scriptures served as an early way to augment one's spirit and mind pillars, lending further credence to this belief. Exceptionally powerful wizards were revered as saints, favorites of God destined for greatness. This is where the idea of the 10 Wizard Saints originated. Many of them wielded ancient relics such as celestial spirit keys and enchanted weapons, the relics believed to be gifts from God. And lacrima, being filled with magic in its natural state, was said to be the remnants of God's body, having left it behind after sculpting the world so he could ascend to heaven and watch over His creation. Early Atrian religion differed from that of early Lautela, which revered the spirits of the wetlands, and from that of Sidia, which worshiped multiple gods for each of the natural elements being a seaside nation at the elements' mercy. Relics existed in these nations as well, both having assigned different meanings to them. In Atria's conquests they attempted to incorporate the religion of other nations into their own to better assimilate their people. It led to the Atrian doctrine becoming rather messy. It was decided that former wizard saints of distinguished service had ascended into God's domain, and continued to influence the world from the heavens. Thus, Lautelan spirits and Sidian gods became not their own religions, but a misunderstood part of Atrian religion. But even today, there are a few Lautelans who still hold on to those old beliefs. As man's original enemy, magical beasts were depicted as demonic invaders trespassing on God's creation. This made it very easy to demonize Valbestians as well, given their connection. Religious fervor made the earliest wars against Valbestia the fiercest, even if the wars began for entirely different reasons. Myeloch Latare ushered in a new age of understanding for magic, which signaled the beginning of the end for Atrian religion. His teachings were met with resistance until explorers discovered the Mistlands, allowing people to easily observe ethernano and its effects. While there are still those who hold on to their beliefs, that number falls with each passing day. Valbestia While Atria had no written history on its beginnings, Valbestia was a different story. Their doctrine tells of a handful of gods who crafted the world, and lived on it in peace until they were betrayed by one of their own. This traitor unleashed the mist to destroy the world, but the other gods gave their lives to keep a small part of it safe. Before their deaths, they created the Valbestian people, and gave them everything they would need to survive. The traitor created the beasts to destroy what the gods had left behind, but the last surviving god gave the Valbestians the power to tame them before he, too, passed. The details of the story have become muddled over time, with each of the tribes having their own iteration of the tale. Even the existence of a traitor isn't always included. But they all include the part with one god granting them the power to connect with beasts, and thus all hold some level of reverence toward him, even if he has no consistent name between the tribes. The current leading tribe refers to him as Bosk. Other gods that have become popular include an earth god credited with creating the land and mountains, and a warrior god who fought back the traitor so the others could create Valbestia. In Valbestia, reverence does not necessarily mean worship. While believing in and revering several gods isn't uncommon, most tribes select only one of them to actually worship. This worship empowers believers via the pillars of mind and spirit. But there are several tribes that worship none at all, believing that relying on the gods' favor is weakness, or that it's offensive to the gods in some way. Difficulties arose when Valbestian's reached past the Collean Mountains and discovered Atria. Not only had they never seen people who didn't live with beasts, but they hadn't seen people incapable of magic at all. Furthermore, all the world outside of Valbestia was supposedly destroyed, swallowed by the mists. Each of the tribes came up with different answers to these questions. But the prevailing belief was that these new lands were just more of Valbestia, promised to them by the gods, and that without Bosk's blessing these new people had to be enemies. And sure enough, they fought back ferociously, seeking to take their lands. Modern day peace has seen many Atrian ideas spread into Valbestia. Knowledge of the pillars has weakened the effects of worship for several tribes, now knowing where that power truly came from, but belief that the gods existed still holds strong. Atrian scholars believe the gods could be powerful wizards from an ancient age, the same ones who left behind the relics. Devout Valbestians contest this, saying that their shared beast-taming affinity and the existence of the Mistlands are far too grand for any wizard, and have no other explanations.